One of the most ubiquitous herbs in British cookery, parsley is also popular in European and…

200g cheese, grated (cheddar, Parmesan, Gruyère, or a mixture)

Method

Bring the milk, garlic and bay leaves to the boil in a small saucepan, then remove from the heat and leave to infuse. Cook the pasta to al dente following pack instructions (if you’re freezing, cook for 1 min less), adding the broccoli for the final 2 mins. Drain.

Strain the milk into a jug. Heat the butter in the pan until foaming then stir in the flour for 1 min. Add the milk a little at a time, stirring or whisking constantly to remove any lumps. Bubble for 1-2 mins, stirring constantly until you have a thick, lump-free sauce.

Remove from the heat and stir in some nutmeg, the mustard powder, parsley, three-quarters of the cheese and seasoning. Combine with the pasta and broccoli and transfer to one large, or individual, heatproof dishes. Scatter over the remaining cheese and cool and freeze for up to three months, or heat the grill to high and cook for 2-3 mins until golden and bubbling. If frozen, defrost in the fridge overnight, then cook at 200C/180C fan/gas 6 for 30-40 mins until piping hot.

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Comments, questions and tips

I used this recipe only as a rough guide - I have to create meals that suit us - me a health conscious 60 year old and my 19 yr old junk food loving son. So I added chicken for him and mushrooms for me. Had to pick out his mushrooms as he hates them and give him most of my chicken instead. I also used quark instead of cheese and he grated cheddar on top of his which I didn't have as I am on a diet. Also used wholegrain pasta. He said it was lovely and that the broccoli (which is something he is not that keen on), added to the flavour. I shall be doing this one again.

marybourkeis

19th Jan, 2016

Followed recipe. The cheese sauce worked out perfectly. It thickened and no burnt saucepan ! I chopped up 2 chicken fillets and fried them . Then mixed them in with the pasta and sauce before grilling.

stinger2001

31st May, 2015

Is there a way to add Imperial measurements? I refuse to do metric and it's a pain converting.

jadedermody

9th May, 2015

didnt have enough flour so sauce didnt thicken. Instead put it in oven and baked for 15 minutes. Came out very nice

malf196

10th Mar, 2015

hope_fornow - I used to have that problem with white sauces, but if you take the saucepan off the heat before you add the milk it works much better. You can put it back on the heat from time to time (e.g. when adding cheese to help it melt) but the sauce is definitely less lumpy if the milk is added away from the heat.

hope_fornow

30th Jan, 2013

4.05

Really enjoyed this! I'm still new to cooking so I had a bit of a problem getting the sauce to be smooth and without lumps! I ended up having to sieve them out of the sauce before adding the final ingredients, but hopefully this was just something I can remedy next time. Very tasty and filling, i will be making this again.

elizabethannelouise

7th Nov, 2013

Many traditional cooks use this roux method for making sauces however, I use cornflour to thicken. It is easier, quicker and healthier to use as it doesn't require butter. Buy cornflour and use guidelines on the pack for the amount of liquid being used. Make sure you mix the cornflour with a little COLD milk or water to make a paste then add, stirring, to the heated milk. It should start to thicken straight away. If not bring it back up to the boil on the hob or in a jug in the microwave.

faitty

28th Jan, 2013

Nice one

cathy_youd

26th Nov, 2012

5.05

Lovely! I REALLY liked the flavour of the sauce and might try it again with chicken and mushroom instead of broccoli (in the hope that it will turn out like my favourite dish from Ask!)

shiningfaery

22nd Nov, 2012

5.05

Used 1 litre milk as in recipe makes a lot of beautiful cheese sauce definitely needed to cover all that pasta.
Makes ALOT. I made this and froze into portions. Its is absolutely lovely the nutmeg and mustard as essential to the sauce and give a lovely flavour takes it from good to fabulous.
Could add more veg or different veg or even chicken to make different.

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Cheaty shortcut: buy a jar of bechamel (white lasagna sauce). Fry an onion, add the sauce, add the other ingredients (I used wholegrain mustard, which made it attractively speckled) and keep warm until the pasta and broccoli is ready. If there's not quite enough bechamel, loosen it with milk and put it in the oven for ten minutes instead of under the grill.
Yum!

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